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Max J. Kohler

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Max J. Kohler
Born22 May 1871Edit this on Wikidata
DetroitEdit this on Wikidata
Died23 July 1934Edit this on Wikidata(aged 63)
Long LakeEdit this on Wikidata
Alma mater
OccupationLaborer,historian,juristEdit this on Wikidata
Parent(s)

Max James Kohler(May 22, 1871 – July 23, 1934) was a Jewish-American lawyer, immigration activist, and historian from New York.

Life

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Kohler was born on May 22, 1871, inDetroit, Michigan,the son ofKaufmann Kohlerand Johanna Einhorn. His parents were both Jewish German immigrants, and his father and maternal grandfatherDavid Einhornwere both prominent rabbis in the AmericanReform Judaism.When David Einhorn died in 1879, Kohler moved with his family to New York City, where his father took David Einhorn's place as rabbi ofCongregation Beth-El.[1]

Kohler graduated from theCollege of the City of New Yorkwith aB.S.in 1890,Columbia UniversitySchool of Political Science with anM.A.in 1891, andColumbia Law Schoolwith anLL.B.and the College of the City of New York with anM.S.in 1893. While in Columbia, he won the Constitutional Law Prize and the Civil Service Reform prize, wrote a number of monographs and articles on historical, religious, and legal subjects, and editedCharles P. Daly's1893 "The Settlement of the Jews in North America." He was admitted to the bar in 1893, and in 1894 he was appointed Junior Assistant to theUnited States District Attorney.In 1895, he was appointed Assistant United States District Attorney. He held that position until 1898, when he was appointed Special Assistant U.S. District Attorney for an important government case. He was appointed again to the position later that year. In 1898, he became a member of the law firm Lewinson, Kohler & Schattman. He made a speciality of federal court cases. In 1899, he published a monograph on Methods of Review in Criminal Cases in the United States for a large volume published in London called "The Necessity of Criminal Appeal as Illustrated by the Maybrick Case and the Jurisprudence of Various Countries," which was edited by J. H. Levy.[2]

Kohler was involved in a number of notable cases, includingU.S. v. Bernard(the first case where postal laws were used to cover the crime of using mail for schemes to defraud),U.S. v. North American Commercial Co.(which involved the alleged liability of government for reducing the taking of seals in the Alaska seal islands under the international fur seal arbitration), three leading cases on immigration laws that reached theUnited States Supreme Court(Tom Hong v. U.S.,Geigow v. Uhl,andTodd v. Waldman), two leading cases on bankruptcy law (re Wilcoxandre Lewensohn), andU.S. v. Joint Traffic Assoc.(in which he served as counsel for the federal government and the U.S. Supreme Court construed the anti-trust act as to railroads to embrace restraint that might be deemed reasonable). In 1917, he was the government attorney before the local draft board in New York City.[3]

While working for the District Attorney, Kohler came into contact with another of immigration cases, first related to theChinese Exclusion Actand later other nationalities. He noted the hardships immigrants were exposed to, and after leaving public office he became involved in a number of immigration cases related to different nationalities and ethnicities, brought them before the U.S. Supreme Court, and created important precedents. Some of his leading cases were fought on behalf of Armenians, Hindus, and Chinese immigrants. He became an authority on immigration law, and legislators and congressional committees sought his advice. He believed the Founding Fathers intended America to be a haven for refugees from all countries, and for most of his career refused to accept remuneration in immigration cases. He wrote a large number of brief and articles and subject, and some of the articles were posthumously collected and published under the titleImmigration and Aliens in the United Statesin 1936.[4]

Kohler served on the commission onEllis Islandand Immigrant Relief in 1933. In his advocacy for immigrants he worked withOscar S. Straus,Louis Marshall,Simon Wolf,[5]Abram I. Elkus,and other leaders of the Jewish community. He managed to secure rulings which put an end to hardships immigrants suffered from due to arbitrary regulations imposed by administration officials. He opposed restrictions on immigration and naturalization and the registration of aliens, testifying against literacy tests and other immigration restrictions before the United States Senate and House of Representatives on behalf of theUnion of American Hebrew Congregationsand theAmerican Jewish Committee.In 1910, he became a member of the Board of Delegates on Civil Rights of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and collaborated with its chairman Simon Wolf. When the Board of Delegates on Civil Rights was abolished in 1926, he became an executive committee member of theAmerican Jewish Committee.In 1931, he prepared two extensive briefs to attack an alien registration law passed by the Michigan state legislature andRutgers University'sintention to limit Jewish enrollment. Both measures were successfully defeated. When Jews began to be persecuted in Nazi Germany, he published articles and pamphlets that encouraged the American government to persuade the Nazi government to change its position.[6]

By 1906, Kohler wrote "Rebecca Franks:an American Jewish Belle of the Last Century "in 1894, a pamphlet on Chinese exclusion immigration, and a chapter called" Jews and Judaism in America "for Halliday and Gregory's 1896" The Church in America and Its Baptism of Fire. "[7]He was a contributor to thePublications of the American Jewish Historical Society,The Jewish Encyclopedia,The American Hebrew,theMenorah Monthly,and theAlbany Law Journal,and was an occasional special correspondent forThe New York Times.He was recording secretary of theAmerican Jewish Historical Societyfrom 1901 to 1903 and became its corresponding secretary in 1903.[8]He was a founder of the Society, was active in its council meetings, regularly wrote articles for itsPublications,and served as one of its vice-president by the time he died. He left his library of Judaica to the Society in his will.[9]

Kohler was Honorary Secretary of theBaron de Hirsch Fundfrom 1905 until his death. He was also Honorary Secretary of the National Committee for the Celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the Settlement of Jews in the United States in 1905. He served for many years on the Committee on Legislation of theNew York County Lawyers' Associationand the Committee on Federal Legislation of theNew York City Bar Association.He was also in theAmerican Jewish CongressandB'nai B'rith.[10]

Kohler wrote the article "Jews in America" for theEncyclopedia Americana.He was a vice-president of The Judaeans, an advisory board member of Temple Beth-El, and a member of theAmerican Economic Association,theAmerican Academy of Political and Social Science,the Civil Service Reform Association,Phi Beta Kappa,[11]and theAmerican Historical Association.In 1925,Hebrew Union Collegegave him an honorary Doctor of Hebrew Laws degree.[3]He also edited and wrote two supplemental chapters ofLuigi Luzzatti'sbookGod in Freedomin 1930. In 1906, he married Winifred Lichtenauer. They had no children, and she died in 1922.[4]

Kohler died from an attack ofangina pectorisat the Hotel Sagamore inLong Lakeon July 23, 1934. He was staying there on vacation for his health.[12]Several hundred people attended his funeral service inTemple Emanu-El,includingUnited Jewish AppealchairmanFelix M. Warburg,Dr.George Alexander Kohut'swidow Rebekah Kohut,Zionist Organization of Americapresident Morris Rothenberg, Jewish Academy of Arts and Science president Dr. Henry Keller, Sarah Schottenfeld of theNational Council of Jewish Women,Philip CowenofB'nai B'rith,Oscar Leonard of theAmerican Jewish Congress,[13]United States Circuit Court JudgeJulian W. Mack,and Alfred A. Cook. He was buried in Beth-El Cemetery inCypress Hills.[14]

References

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  1. ^Goldstein, Eric L. (2000)."Kohler, Max James".American National BiographyOnline.doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0800821.
  2. ^Chamberlain, Joshua L.,ed. (1900).Universities and Their Sons: History, Influence and Characteristics of American Universities.Vol. IV. Boston, M.A.: R. Herndon Company. pp. 50–51 – viaGoogle Books.
  3. ^abThe National Cyclopædia of American Biography.Vol. B. New York, N.Y.: James T. White & Company. 1927. pp. 180–181 – viaHathiTrust.
  4. ^abStarr, Harris E., ed. (1944).Dictionary of American Biography.Vol. 21. New York, N.Y.:Charles Scribner's Sons.pp. 472–473 – viaInternet Archive.
  5. ^"Kohler, Max James".Encyclopedia.Retrieved2021-11-22.
  6. ^Landman, Isaac,ed. (1942).The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia.Vol. 6. New York, N.Y.: The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Inc. pp. 431–432 – viaGoogle Books.
  7. ^Adler, Cyrus(1906)."Kohler, Max J."Jewish Encyclopedia.Retrieved2021-11-22.
  8. ^Adler, Cyrus;Szold, Henrietta,eds. (1904). "Biographical Sketches of Jews Prominent in the Professions, Etc., in the United States".The American Jewish Year Book, 5665.Vol. 6. Philadelphia, P.A.:The Jewish Publication Society of America.p. 129 – viaGoogle Books.
  9. ^Huhner, Leon (1937)."Necrology: Max James Kohler".Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society.34.American Jewish Historical Society:295–301.JSTOR43058454– viaJSTOR.
  10. ^Schneiderman, Harry,ed. (1935). "Max J. Kohler".The American Jewish Year Book, 5696(PDF).Philadelphia, P.A.:The Jewish Publication Society of America.pp. 21–25 – viaAmerican Jewish CommitteeArchives.
  11. ^Who's Who in American Jewry, 1926.New York, N.Y.: The Jewish Biographical Bureau, Inc. 1927. p. 325 – viaGoogle Books.
  12. ^"Max J. Kohler Dies; Authority on Law"(PDF).The New York Times.Vol. LXXXIII, no. 27941. New York, N.Y. 25 July 1934. p. 17.
  13. ^"Kohler Lauded at Services for His High Ideals".Jewish Telegraphic Agency.Vol. XI, no. 2908. New York, N.Y. 27 July 1934. p. 2.
  14. ^"Rites at Emanu-El for Max J. Kohler"(PDF).The New York Times.Vol. LXXXIII, no. 27943. New York, N.Y. 27 July 1934. p. 17.
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